So-called banded endless power transmission belts made primarily of elastomeric material and comprised of a plurality of belt elements banded together with a tie band are known in the art. A common problem with known banded belts is that they tend to fail rapidly once subjected to adverse conditions caused by operation thereof under excessive loads or by operation thereof in excessively worn sheaves. To overcome this problem the construction of the tie band should be such that it holds its associated belt elements together in a high strength manner preventing shearing of the tie band as well as preventing cracking or delamination thereof.